Spot the difference. Fracking, which is climate-polluting and unproven in the UK, gets “all-out” government backing, with ministers steamrolling over local opposition. Onshore windfarms, proven to be low-cost and low-carbon, get undermined by the government, with local opposition given power to block applications.

It is a vital win for the nascent UK shale gas industry. But these are merely the opening skirmishes. To really know if fracking can provide significant gas for the UK, hundreds – if not thousands – of wells need to be drilled. Given the hand-to-hand combat that accompanies even single wells at the moment, the frackers still have an uphill struggle.

But the government has their back. It has promised cash handouts to local people in fracking areas: compensation or bribes, depending on your point of view. Yet why are the same incentives not offered for windfarms? A key underlying reason for opposition to turbines is the feeling of invasion of a community which derives no benefit from the development.

Ministers cannot say they did not know. The government’s own public opinion poll shows nearly eight in 10 people agree that renewable energy developments should provide direct benefits to the communities in which they are located. The poll also shows 81% in support of renewables, with 4% against. Contrast that with fracking: 19% in favour and 31% against, with the rest undecided.

So why does the government persist? The heady fracking fumes drifting across the Atlantic from the US, where shale oil and gas have transformed the energy market, are intoxicating. Ministers initially argued that fracking in the UK would cut energy bills, only to discover than no one else agreed with them.

So who exactly is Backing Fracking – unmasking the astro-turfers

Given what I read in their carefully crafted press releases and on their social media sites, it seems that the astroturfing group which calls itself “Backing Fracking” would have you believe that they are made up of ordinary “residents” who are nothing to do with “the industry and businesses on one side, and anti-fracking campaigners on the other.” People who Backing Fracking describes on his Facebook page as ”ordinary people who want good jobs and better life chances”.

Here’s how Ellie Rylands describes their plight:

“22 year old Ellie Rylands, one of the organisers, says it’s time that people saw shale gas enjoys support not just from businesses, but also from ordinary members of the community: “Until now, whenever shale gas has been discussed, all we’ve heard are the opinions of the industry and businesses on one side, and anti-fracking campaigners on the other. But there are lots of people in the middle that believe shale gas can be extracted safely in this country, and can see how it could create a massive jobs boost for the area, especially for young people like me emerging from college and university.”

Did Ellie mention that her Linked In profile shows that she was actually employed by Cuadrilla and Centrica last year?

Years of tireless community campaigning, public meetings, companies bought and sold, a two year community protection camp and an eviction that cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. IGas have temporarily thrown in the towel.

This is by no means the end of the fight to protect this part of the North West from fracking, but it’s a massive delay and a massive victory. Faced with this level of local and regional opposition the industry needs to try something else. What that will be and when is anyone’s guess. But for now – it’s time to celebrate!

Communities could lose the right to block fracking wells as part of a Cabinet plan to create a shale gas industry within a decade, the Telegraph can reveal.

The 10-page plan, leaked to anti-fracking campaigners, sets out a timeline for the expansion of the shale gas industry in Britain.

The Prime Minister blamed a “lack of understanding” about the process for some of the opposition to it, and insisted they would be addressed once people could see functioning shale gas wells in the UK.

LACK OF UNDERSTANDING DAVE!? We understand it completely – lots of money for you and your friends, whilst causing devastating, irreversible damage to our water, air and land. We UNDERSTAND the absolute nightmare people are having to live (and die) with in the USA and Australia. We UNDERSTAND that drilling a huge hole into the ground, pumping it with gallons upon gallons of water and toxic chemicals is never going to be a good idea. We UNDERSTAND that ‘addressing’ the completely justified warnings and concerns about fracking AFTER you’ve fracked the land really means that it is much easier to ask for forgiveness rather than our permission.

Anti-fracking protesters evicted from Cheshire camp

Demonstrators had locked themselves in tunnels to try to frustrate attempt to take over site in Upton

Police and bailiffs have evicted protesters from the UK’s longest-running anti-fracking camp, which activists have fortified with tunnels, treehouses and a moat, months after the high court ordered them to leave so drilling could begin.

Anna Davis, an activist with Frack Free Dee, said police had blocked the road leading to the protest camp, ostensibly to guarantee public safety while it was being used by vehicles involved in the eviction. She said she and fellow activists would try to use country footpaths to reach the site, which police are unable to legally block. Karen Harris, an Upton resident and member of Frack Free Dee, said: “We surveyed our neighbours and over 85% do not want this industry here or anywhere else. There is no community consent for this work to take place and we’ll be doing everything we can to defend ourselves.”

“There is a school within 500 metres of the site and houses within 200 metres. We’re not stupid, we can look to America for 10 years’ worth of evidence as to what fracking means for communities. We won’t have our health and environment ruined just to make a small number of people a large amount of money.”

Householders could face an insurance double-whammy if they live within a five-mile radius of shale gas exploration sites

As householders across the UK continue the great flood clean-up, many are battling with insurance companies. Some are discovering that they now face an insurance “double whammy” – especially if they live in one of the areas covered by the new fracking licences announced by the Government before Christmas.

Many of the UK’s best known insurance companies will not insure against fracking-related damage, an investigation by The Independent on Sunday and the campaign group Spinwatch has found.

This could include contamination caused by polluted water from a fracking site being spread during exceptional flood events and could also include groundwater contamination from underground fracking operations. Companies representing two thirds of the UK insurance market will not insure against damage caused as a result of fracking, or else have exemptions covering potential pollution of water from the controversial technique. This means tens of thousands of people will find it difficult to insure themselves against fracking-related damage to their property or land.

This week saw the Government award a new license to Hutton Energy which covers huge swathes of the city which weren’t previously banked by Igas around Eccles and Barton Moss. The new licence, awarded days after the Paris Climate Conference, means that a huge area is now up for fracking, including Worsley, Swinton, Clifton, Pendlebury, Little Hulton and Walkden. Nowhere outside Central Salford is safe from the frackers, including Salford Civic Centre.

But then they say: not everybody in the UK needs to have dirty energy on their doorstep. They say: here in the leafy, crowded south of England, our hills are too green, our views are too beautiful, our lives are too precious, to be contaminated by the dirty energy that we nevertheless need in the UK.

The place to have dirty energy is in the North, they say. The North is desolate anyway, they say. In the North, they do not love where they live as much as we do. In the North, their hills are not so green. Their views are not so beautiful. Their lives are not so precious. That’s what they say.

The government has been accused of a spectacular U-turn on protection for the UK’s finest landscapes from the effects of fracking. A committee of MPs had expected to debate a ban on fracking from the surface of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. But the Energy Minister, Andrea Leadsom, told the committee the regulations dealt only with what happened below ground.

TRAFFORD COUNCIL ACCUSED OF ‘SERIOUS DERELICTION OF DUTY TO LOCAL RESIDENTS’

Tonight, Trafford Council approved an IGas planning application to drill for Coal Bed Methane, seen as the `evil twinof fracking’, right next to the Trafford Centre. The application was given the go-ahead despite concerns which Friends of the Earth stated would be a “serious dereliction of duty to local residents“.

Salford anti-fracking campaigner, John Catterall, added “We’ve just got to keep fighting and fighting, and if it means occupying the land again then that’s what we will do…”

Despite serious concerns by green groups, including Friends of the Earth and the Breathe Clean Air Group, Trafford Council tonight approved an application by fracking firm IGas to drill for Coal Bed Methane on a site in Davyhulme by the M60 motorway and almost next to the Trafford Centre.

Coal Bed Methane (CBM) is gas which is trapped in coal layers, and to extract it the coal seam must be depressurised by drilling vertically and then horizontally, whilst pumping out vast quantities of water from the coal layers. As the pressure is released, the gas starts to flow. CBM extraction does not always involve fracking, but is called the ‘evil twin of fracking’, because it often does.

Before tonight’s meeting, Friends of the Earth wrote to the Council setting out serious flaws in the Council planning officers’ recommendation for approval, re-iterated at tonight’s meeting, including health and safety, groundwater, climate change and air quality concerns, and the lack of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The UK government Dpartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it redacted huge swathes of a Defra report because the information as not rigorous enough – even though it was written by an economic advisor in the department’s Rural Communities Policy Unit, exchanges between Defra and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) reveal.

The emails obtained through FOI request, show that Defra was worried that green groups would use information it considered inaccurate to strike a blow against the government’s amendments to the Infrastructure Bill, which was changed to allow fracking under people’s homes following a consultation in Summer 2014.

The unredacted report, finally published in full in July this year – showed the impacts of fracking on houses and jobs in local communities, as well as health impacts from water, noise light and air pollution.

Organised, visible community resistance is beating the fracking industry. With the next licensing round to be announced IMMINENTLY – now is the time to get involved with your local group or start one in your area!

The government proposes to issue 59 oil and gas licences in areas close to the UK’s most important wildlife sites with no conditions on the activities of operators.

The licences make up just under half the blocks that will be released following a public consultation currently underway.

Most are in Yorkshire, the East Midlands and Lancashire. Many are within a few kilometres of ecologically-sensitive areas, such as the Wash, Humber Estuary, Flamborough Head, North York Moors, Gibraltar Point and the River Derwent.

Another 73 licences (55% of the total), which either contain important wildlife sites or are within 1km, will be issued with conditions. This could prohibit exploration, development or production at or the near surface in part of the block.

The details are included in consultation documents published earlier this month by the Oil and Gas Authority, an agency of the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The consultation runs until the end of September.

Together, the 132 licences make up a second tranche of blocks to be issued under the 14th Oil and Gas Licensing Round. They underwent an assessment because they were within 10km of wildlife sites protected by the Habitat Regulations.

These sites include:

Special Protection Areas, designated to protect Europe’s rare and vulnerable birds, such as Liverpool Bay

Special Areas of Conservation, designated to protect Europe’s rarest habitats and species, such the River Wye

Ramsar Sites, designated to protect internationally-important wetlands, such as the Severn Estuary

The assessment under the Habitat Regulations looked only at the impact on the habitats and species of the sites.

The first tranche of licences, comprising 27 blocks, were not included in the consultation because oil and gas developments were not regarded as having any likely significant impact on the wildlife sites.

Granting a licence gives an operator exclusive right to search or drill for oil and gas. But it does not give permission to drill. If permission were granted under planning and environmental permit regulations other conditions would be likely.

Shirley ‘Sug’ McNall in front of a production gas well in Aztec, New Mexico. “We live in a toxic community,” she says. Photograph: Jeffrey Barbee

Leaked methane and other toxic gases are polluting the air with serious health risks for local communities whose fortunes depend on oil and gas in the shale boom state.

“My daughter has asthma. She is not the only one around here, something is wrong here, our air quality shouldn’t be this way.”

Shirley “Sug” McNall is leaning up against a fence staring at a natural gas well about 40 meters from a playground behind the primary school where her daughter used to teach in Aztec, New Mexico. She believes that the gas industry and the explosion of fracking in her state is responsible for serious impacts on local air quality which are affecting people’s health.

Northern New Mexico’s San Juan county has been the centre of intense fossil fuel extraction for decades. Here, oil, gas and coal are all pulled out of the ground. Until now, many people blamed only the coal for the bad air. That was before people like McNall and three of her friends – who call themselves the “Four Grams” – got involved and started waking people up to the danger of the 20,000 wells in their community.

The UK Government will no longer issue licences for gas extraction in Wales, at the request of the Welsh Government.

This appears too give Welsh Government the power over granting such licences, if it sees fit.

It also would appear to give them the power to impose a moratorium or ban if it so decided.

Notice the big “ifs” in these statements.

Despite what you might read in some papers (e.g. The Daily Post) this news does not represent a ‘de facto fracking ban’ at all.

In fact this news only goes to underline the fact that until these powers are transferred, the supposed moratorium on fracking in Wales simply does not exist – despite the misreporting of the vote in February, tabled by Plaid Cymru, to agree to the principle of a moratorium. Labour’s Planning Minister, Carl Sargent, was shamelessly spinning these events in claiming the powers to impose a moratorium, called out by Gareth Clubb from Friends of the Earth Cymru…

First Minister Carwyn Jones has never said more than he would ‘consider a moratorium’ if he ever had the powers to impose one. Well, the Welsh Labour government no longer has the option of sitting on the fence and using its default “It’s all Westminster’s fault” position. We should be able to expect an unambiguous statement of policy and intent regarding fracking and dirty fossil fuel technologies, from all the Parties aspiring to have a say in government in Wales after next year’s Assembly elections.

Energy firm Cuadrilla has announced it will relocate its headquarters as a ’viable symbol’ of its commitment to shale gas exploration. After announcing last month they would be appealing against the decisions made by Lancashire County Council to refuse permission to explore shale gas at two sites, the company has now said it is moving its management and operational team from the current office in Staffordshire to an ’unconfirmed’ location in Lancashire.

Francis Egan, chief executive of Cuadrilla said: “Relocating our headquarters to the North West is not only a visible symbol of our continued commitment to exploration for shale gas in Lancashire but will enable an even greater focus in growing our supplier base and employees from the area. “Whilst we are currently at the start of an appeals process regarding our Lancashire planning applications, we are confident that shale gas exploration will bring many benefits to the region that include our own direct investment in local people and suppliers for our new head office.” Lancashire County Council rejected two planning applications for Preston New Road and Roseacre Wood in June, 2015.

At Manchester Magistrates Court today in the trial of more than 40 people arrested during the anti-fracking protests at Barton Moss the court heard evidence about contamination at Barton Moss in Salford. A verdict on the evidence will now be heard in court on September 7th.

New evidence was heard today as a part of a trial of more than 40 people arrested during the anti-fracking protests at Barton Moss in Spring 2014. The new report discussed historical contamination of land surrounding the iGas site, of glacial clay that was excavated when the drilling pad was constructed and of contaminants found in the drainage ditch alongside the compound. After last weeks adjournments where the prosecutions barrister failed to attend, (see Salford Star article – click here) Manchester Magistrates Court finally heard evidence from the prosecution’s expert witness, Sarah Scott, of the Environment Agency and the expert witness for the defence, environmental scientist, Dr Aidan Foley.

Their evidence came after initial findings that were heard in March showed dangerously high levels of toxic PAHs on the land surrounding the iGas compound. These include acenaphthylene, anthracene, benz[a]anthracene and chrysene – toxic carcinogenic substances which have major affects on human health, as well as on livestock and crops. Until March Dr Foley had been refused access back onto the site by both Peel Holdings, the owners of the land, and iGas despite needing to get more samples so that he could identify the actual source of the contamination. Since then Dr Foley has been allowed back on to the site and todays hearing heard his report. A verdict on this report is now being considered and will be heard in court on September 7th.

Cuadrilla to Appeal Lancashire’s Refusal of Fracking Applications

Shale gas developer Cuadrilla will be appealing against Lancashire County Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for its proposed exploratory drilling sites at Roseacre Wood and Preston New Road.

After six months of delay, the council rejected Cuadrilla’s planning application for both sites last month. While environmental campaigners hailed this as a major victory, the threat of an appeal has been looming in the background ever since; councillors were advised at the time that their rulings would likely be subject to appeal.

Bob Dennett, one of the founders of Frack Free Lancashire, told DeSmog UK: “This is not unexpected. Personally, I expected them to take a little bit longer to announce that they were going to an appeal but they have done it. We are ready for it.” Dennett added that the group is planning to fight against Cuadrilla’s appeal. “It’s safe to say that we have sufficient grounds to fight their appeal and we have the legal teams lined up ready to do it.”

Fracking will be allowed to take place in hundreds of precious wildlife sites after the Government abandoned its pledge of an “outright ban” on the practice in Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The Department of Energy and Climate Change said it had now decided it would be “impractical” to ban fracking in the sites, which are designated by law to protect rare species and habitats.

New York State has officially banned the use of hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas, citing its potential impact on health and the environment. The state has long had a de facto ban on the practice, known as fracking, which has unlocked vast quantities of natural gas and natural gas liquids from the Marcellus and Utica shale fields in neighbouring Pennsylvania and Ohio.

In a statement released Monday, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation spelled out a number of concerns associated with shale gas development – including the impact on ground water and surface water from leaks and spills, and air pollution from increased truck traffic. It concluded there are “unavoidable adverse environmental impacts” and “significant uncertainty” remaining regarding the level of risk to public health that would result from permitting high-volume hydraulic fracturing in New York. And hence, Governor Andrew Cuomo officially prohibited the practice.

On a day which has huge implications for the future of shale gas extraction in the UK, Lancashire Council councillors have voted NO to Cuadrilla’s fracking application at Preston New Road. After months of demonstrations, awareness-raising, and strong opposition not only from local communities but people throughout the UK and all over the world, it seems the councillors have held their integrity and recognised the serious impact fracking would have on the land, water and people. The past week has seen demonstrations made up of locals, families, celebrities, supporters from throughout the UK, and politicians descend on County Hall, Preston, whilst the councillors considered the application.

Cuadrilla tried their best to bully, intimidate and pressure the council into approving the application, incorrectly ‘warning’ them that a refusal would result in huge legal costs from Cuadrilla. But despite the threats, over the weekend, a second leading QC emerged with informationwhich proved that the council were very much within their rights to refuse the application without financial repercussion. Which, in a so-called democratic society, seems ridiculous to consider otherwise.

Cuadrilla will inevitably choose to appeal the council’s decision. But the fact that it has today been REJECTED is hugely significant in the fight against the government and corporations who want to ‘frack the life out of the country’. Community resistance, solidarity, and the truth about fracking is more powerful than the corporations and their money, we said we would STOP them and today, we have.

Most importantly though, Cuadrilla’s been on a charm offensive and has been dishing out some of its plentiful investment to Lancashire organisations and ventures ahead of seeking permission to frack, including:

This unquestionable big-heartedness has not been restricted to these PR-friendly ventures. Cuadrilla also bank rolls the fracking hype machine that is the North West Energy Task Force (NWETF). The NWETF has been very busy trying to drum up support for fracking in Lancashire and this culminated in its recent Faces of Shale campaign which found 10 (ten!) people in Lancashire to support fracking.

Despite all of this activity the majority of Lancastrians still don’t want to see fracking in their county. Opposition keeps growing with thousands of residents, hundreds of businesses and local unions all against the fracking plans. And last week showed that Cuadrilla has also failed to convince a majority of the councillors to approve their plans.

All that time and money spent and Cuadrilla still can’t sell fracking to this clued-up public. They don’t buy the claims of no environmental impact and the hype about job creation and lower bills.

LANCASHIRE needs you (now more than ever) – please join us to make this matter:

From Tues 23rd to Fri 26th June, Lancashire County Council will be deciding on whether or not to approve two of the biggest fracking tests ever contemplated in the UK. If allowed to happen, each site would have 4 horizontal wells, producing tens of millions of gallons and radioactive and toxic waste and opening the door to thousands more wells to be drilled across Lancashire, and the rest of the UK.

On the first day (and on subsequent days), concerned communities from around the UK will descend upon Lancashire County Hall in Preston for a peaceful show of solidarity and resistance. This is a huge deal that has implications for the entirety of the UK. It’s also a great chance to showcase the strength and solidarity of the of the UK anti-fracking movement by standing with the people of Lancashire!

If you live in the 60% of the UK that has been made available to fracking companies, this is also your chance to highlight the threat to your community and the resistance taking place where you live! Get involved and come to Lancashire, if you can! If you can just come for one day the first one is likely to be the most important in setting the tone for the days that follow.

For more info and details about this event please click hereto visit the Facebook page.

Despite investigation weakened by oil and gas industry obstructionism, EPA confirms what communities living with fracking have known for almost a decade | Earthworks.org

June 4, 2015

Washington DC — In a watershed moment, today EPA announced fracking does pollute drinking water with the release of the draft final version of its study of Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas and Its Potential Impact on Drinking Water Resources. Congress commissioned the study in 2010 in response to increasing public questions about the risks posed to drinking water by the unconventional oil and gas boom. In 2004, an EPA study concluded that hydraulic fracturing does not threaten drinking water. From that conclusion, Congress exempted fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act. The 2004 study was maligned within the EPA and by independent scientists. The current study was intended to revisit the conclusions of the 2004 study. “Today EPA confirmed what communities living with fracking have known for years, fracking pollutes drinking water,” said Earthworks Policy Director Lauren Pagel. She continued, “Now the Obama administration, Congress, and state governments must act on that information to protect our drinking water, and stop perpetuating the oil and gas industry’s myth that fracking is safe.”

This is the film the UK & Australian Governments do NOT want you to see! Documenting the accounts of families living with the hydrocarbon industry as a neighbour, this hour long documentary is shocking, as it reveals the day to day pollution these people live with – pollution of water, air, light and sound, some of the the basic human requirements needed to survive. The blind eye that the authorities and the hydrocarbon industry turn to these families living conditions, and the complete disregard to the environmental damage done to the bush by this, is truly disgraceful.

I have not seen another film like it, telling us, warning us how really dreadful life is living amongst the gas wells. I have a huge respect for the families in Australia that held onto their land and shared their stories with us. It was especially moving when Brian Monk speaks directly to the audience near the end of the video, very powerful indeed – we would be very wise to listen and act accordingly.

This film should be distributed and shown as widely as possible so we can learn and act. Full credit to Ian R Crane and his colleagues for turning around this moving, informative, high quality film in less than four months since his return from Australia. Thank you Ian and the families from Australia for the absolutely invaluable insight this film gives.

We need to take heed of the “Voices from the Gasfields” so these honourable families have not stayed loyal to their lands in vain

We shouldn’t need a report by Medact to tell us what fracking means for our health. We have a Government led by politicians we elect to represent us in the public interest.

We have Government Departments and regulatory agencies we pay for with our taxes to act in the public interest. Fracking for shale gas on the scale proposed by the Government would transform our nation. The direct physical impacts alone would be experienced by millions.

We should not embark on this without a strong national consensus based on full, rigorous, and transparent consideration of all the implications, particularly the implications for health.

Otherwise this project will end in tears.

If our leaders think any great endeavor is in the national interest, they have an obligation to promote a full, rigorous, and transparent debate, as a basis for building a national consensus. Government departments and agencies that exist to serve the public interest have an obligation to ensure that such debate is built upon the best possible understanding of what will be involved.

On fracking, alas, our leaders and our public institutions are letting us down.

The Medact Report should have been a nationwide media outcry. It’s not hard to guess why the government don’t want you to see this. Or the redacted DEFRA report…

18 eminent medical and academic professionals, with no vested interests, researched and published the Medact report at the end of March. The overwhelming evidence that is now against fracking is astonishing. Please share the report and the information so that as many people as possible are aware of what the government is trying to bury, before it’s too late.

Radonland: Fracking Radon

The Marcellus shale is particularly rich in radium and radon. Solution mining it via high volume fracking is tantamount to mining radium and radon. Increases in radon are now so common in Pennsylvania that even the EPA is proposing to something about it.

April 9, 2015 – Levels of radon, an invisible, odorless radioactive gas, have been rising measurably in Pennsylvania since the controversial practice of fracking started there, researchers reported Thursday. The study cannot directly link fracking with the raised radon levels. But whatever is going on, residents need to be aware of the rising levels of the gas and take action to get it out of their homes, the researchers say. Radon levels were higher in homes near where there were more of these wells.

Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., killing an estimated 21,000 people a year. It occurs naturally in many types of rocks, and many people who have bought or sold a home will be familiar with the radon test on the basement or ground floor. Pennsylvania has notoriously high levels of radon, and Joan Casey of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and colleagues set out to assess all the different sources of radon on Pennsylvania homes over time.

Parents at Weeton St Michael’s are concerned about the impacts of fracking and the industrialisation it entails. Their children’s school is just one mile from Cuadrilla’s proposed fracking site at Preston New Road near Little Plumpton. They have already gathered over 200 signatures on a petition they plan to submit to Lancashire County Council.

Lancashire County Council Avoid Discuss

Claire, whose daughters attend Weeton St Michael’s, said if the application is granted several parents would remove their children from the school. “The main reason parents decided to group together and petition the county council is the lack of information on the potential risk factors of a primary school being one mile away from an industrial operation.”

“No dialogue has been entered into with parents and they were unhappy with the response from the Governors and County Hall continually stating they are unable to discuss it.”

“The prevailing wind is south-westerly, and therefore most of the time, the fumes from any fugitive gas emissions, the many diesel compressors and generators will blow polluted air directly over the school and according to a recent journal, may well exacerbate respiratory and skin conditions.”

At Manchester Magistrates Court today, a District Judge heard expert evidence of contamination around the IGas exploratory drilling site in Barton Moss. Initial findings showed dangerously high levels of toxic PAHs and the hearing concerned the need for the experts to get new samples for further analysis. IGas and Peel Holdings have so far refused access to the site.

Today was a preparatory hearing in relation to defendants who face 51 charges connected to the anti-fracking protests at Barton Moss last year.

With previous press restrictions lifted today, some of the details have emerged about massive toxic contamination around the controversial IGas exploratory drilling site, the scene of huge anti-fracking protests at Barton Moss last year.

At Manchester Magistrates Court, District Judge Prowse acknowledged the “enormous public interest” in the case and the “dangerously high concentrations” of PAHs (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) found from samples taken near the IGas site.

PAHs include acenaphthylene, anthracene, benz[a]anthracene and chrysene – toxic carcinogenic substances which have major affects on human health, as well as on livestock and crops.

Expert witness for the defence, Dr Aidan Foley, told the court he had tested for 16 compounds but needed to go back to the site to get more samples so that he could fingerprint the actual source of the contamination. Both Peel Holdings, the owners of the land, and IGas, which rented its site from Peel, had refused access.

Dr Foley named a number of sources from where the contamination could have come from, including the M62 which goes past the site, historical dumping, Barton Aerodrome or from plant and machinery used at the IGas drilling site… “Would the logical conclusion be that it must have come off the site?” asked the Judge… “Yes” replied Dr Foley.

THANK YOU to everyone who attended the fracking information and social meeting held at the British Legion in Walkden on Tuesday night. It was brilliant to hear from so many different speakers spanning such a wide spectrum of different beliefs, views and backgrounds, yet who all shared one common interest – fracking and the potential damage and devastation to our water, air, health and lives. It was a reminder that whatever your political (or apolitical), ethical, philosophical, religious or spiritual takes on life, one thing unites us all and that is the right to a future free from the risk of toxic poisoning to our land, air and water caused by the fracking industry and corporations. If you couldn’t make the event or you are interested in what was said at the meeting, we’ll be uploading a video of clips of various speakers from the night, some local, some representing various political parties, some sharing their experiences of life at community resistance camps and others just sharing their own personal view and feelings and knowledge about the industry. We will be holding more meetings and social events in the near future, so thank you to those who left their contact details, we will keep you informed. Alternatively you can follow us on Twitteror check our website, details of any events will be posted on here too.

In the meantime, you can watch the above video of The Observer Ethical Award: Local Hero winner, 83 year old Anne Power speaking at the event. To read about Anne’s experience of GMP’s behaviour at Barton Moss, you can click herefor a previous M.E.N news article and click here for the Salford Star’s piece on Anne’s award.

It was clear and very encouraging to see the strong community resistance and opposition, and great to get feedback from people who knew little or nothing about fracking before coming to the meeting and said they were going home with their ‘interest ignited’, feeling enthused to learn more for themselves.

This video is a great insight into the period of time Igas undertook their test drilling for shale gas between November 2013 and April 2014 in Salford. Filmed at Barton Moss, local Jason talks to residents locals of the community protection camp and local people visiting the site to express their peaceful resistance, to gain their views on fracking and why it’s so important for the sake of your own future and that of your family, to research fracking and share information with people you know.

Salford could become the North West centre of the fracking industry as Peel Holdings has announced the creation of a new Gas and Oil business “looking to maximise the economic and supply chain benefits to the North of England from the emerging shale gas industry”.

The Peel Group is already heavily involved with IGas Energy, subject of huge anti-fracking protests at Barton Moss last year, and the company’s Port Salford could become central to its plans.

Here are the details of FFW’s latest information and awareness event (see above). Former oilfield executive Ian R. Crane, the speaker from last year’s meeting, will be appearing to inform us of the very latest on the fracking situation in the UK. With appearances from other guest speakers and musicians, it looks set to be an inspiring and informative evening. It’s free entry, and everyone is welcome, so if you’re interested please feel free to bring along anyone else whom you think might enjoy it.

This is a 20 minute cut of Wyoming rancher John Fenton’s presentation at Casino, northern NSW Australia on 25 Feb 2014. John has a terrible story to tell about the effects of invasive gasfields on his property and family and explains how to avoid the same thing happening to you and your community.

Fracking, the practice of firing high-pressure jets of toxic chemicals into the earth to release shale gas, is not popular in Britain. Less than a quarter of the population supports the idea, and even fewer would back fracking in their local area. But the government wants to open the country up for drilling and together with the fossil fuel industry, is determined to get its way.

To oil the wheels of the fracking bandwagon, ministers have resorted to various schemes. They’ve offered tax breaks to cash-strapped councils in return for approving projects, buried changes to land rights in obscure legislation, created legal requirements to dig up fossil fuels, and dismissed concerns over everything from health to house-prices as the ramblings of cranks and nimbys. Taken together, it resembles less an energy policy and more an all-out assault on the will of the people.

Last month, MPs approved the Infrastructure Bill, a mammoth piece of legislation that covers everything from road building to tackling invasive plant species. Buried in its depths are hastily drafted provisions that enshrine in law the right of fracking companies to drill under private property against the will of the owner, despite a consultation finding 99% of the public opposed the change.

The Scottish government has today announced a moratorium on fracking, this news follows a demonstration on Sunday 25th January held outside Ineos, the chemical giant who last year announced its plans to invest a huge £640m in shale gas exploration. People from all over the UK travelled to Grangemouth in Scotland to unite in opposition against the dirty and dangerous plans proposed by Ineos. Salford people including residents from Walkden and Swinton made the trip to demonstrate their opposition and show solidarity to the people of Scotland, and stated ‘We came here to send a clear message to Ineos – fracking is not wanted here or anywhere, and no amount of money from greedy corporations will ever change the fact that fracking will never be anything but unsafe, toxic and dangerous, and the people won’t be fooled – and we certainly won’t go away! It was great to see just how much opposition from the locals there is in this part of the UK, as well as the people from all over who turn out en masse in support. It was a really inspiring, encouraging, and positive day.’

The Scottish government has announced a moratorium on all planning consents for unconventional oil and gas extraction, including fracking.

Welcomed by campaigners as “a very big nail in the coffin for the unconventional gas and fracking industry in Scotland”, energy minister Fergus Ewing told the Scottish parliament on Wednesday afternoon that the moratorium would allow time for the government to launch a full public consultation on the controversial drilling technique, and to commission a full public health impact assessment.

Cross-party committee says that fracking for gas should be suspended in the UK because it poses significant health risks to locals

The Government is today facing a backbench rebellion over legislation to make it easier for energy companies to frack for shale gas, as an influential committee of MPs demands a total fracking ban.

A number of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are preparing to defy a three-line whip and vote in favour of amendments to the Government’s Infrastructure Bill that would effectively impose a moratorium on fracking in the UK.

The rebels include the former Cabinet minister Caroline Spelman and Home Office minister Norman Baker as well as a significant number of other MPs with constituencies in potential fracking zones who are worried the issue could cost them their seats in May.

The backlash comes as a report from the cross-party Environmental Audit Committee concludes that fracking for gas should be suspended in the UK because it poses significant health risks to locals and makes it virtually impossible for the country to meets its carbon reduction targets.

Salford MPs – Hazel Blears, Barbara Keeley and Graham Stringer – are being urged to support a cross party vote for a moratorium on fracking across Britain on Monday when the Infrastructure Bill comes before Parliament.

The motion, backed by Bolton Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi and Green Party MP Caroline Lucas amongst others, would put a pause on fracking for up to two and a half years while the risks are assessed. Meanwhile a potential dynamite court case surrounding the IGas site in Salford has been adjourned until March.

The Infrastructure Bill has been making its way through Parliament since June this year. The Bill was launched in the House of Lords on 5 June, where it had its third reading on 19 November. It was then quietly moved to the House of Commons, with its first reading on 20 November. But how does it relate to fracking and why should you care?

Drilling Under Your Home Without Consent

In particular, this is the Bill that the government is using to allow companies to frack underneath your home without your consent. For a bit of background, under current UK law, any oil and gas company that wants to drill on your land or underneath your home must first inform you and seek your permission. Greenpeace became aware of this ancient land right and started their WrongMove (1) campaign. Through the campaign, the village of Fernhurst successfully blocked (2) Celtitque Energie’s proposed drilling site. This was a major victory for the UK anti-fracking movement and provided a way for landowners to protect their land from oil and gas exploration.

However in June, the government announced that they were thinking about changing the trespass laws. Under the newly proposed laws, oil and gas companies would not have to seek permission to drill under anyone’s land. Cuadrilla’s CEO Francis Egan said that this change to the trespass law was needed otherwise, fracking companies would find it very difficult to operate (3).

A public consultation was held on the proposed change to the trespass law. Despite 99% of respondents saying that they were against the change to the law, the government added this additional legislation to the Infrastructure Bill. To add insult to injury, an additional amendment has been added that allows fracking companies to install infrastructure and deposit “any substance” in the earth – again, without a land/home owners consent or knowledge.

Peel Holdings – hardly the most popular company in Salford and the North West – is now promoting itself within the fracking industry as being able to help get community consent and licenses for shale gas exploration.

Victoria Merton from Peel Gas and Oil says that the company “has a strong track record in site development and public consenting”. Peel tried and failed to get anti-fracking protesters at Barton Moss evicted from its land, while virulent community campaigns against its housing developments have been a feature in Salford over recent years.

Peel Holdings, which rented its land to IGas Energy for exploratory drilling atBarton Moss, is currently positioning itself, via its ‘Oil and Gas’ division, as being able to help the fracking industry “move quickly through the licensing and consenting process and secure a supply chain in the UK which will underpin its success”.

Fracking companies are all chasing the so-called `social license’ – community consent – to begin controversial shale gas exploration in Salford and elsewhere, and Peel is attempting to cash in on the new energy sector by offering a service wooing the community as well as the authorities which give out planning permits. Peel Gas and Oil’s Victoria Merton, told the Shale Gas Investment Guiderecently: “In 2008 IGas wanted to develop unconventional gas and Peel as a major landowner and infrastructure group, has a strong track record in site development and public consenting. That’s what Peel Gas and Oil offers: a development partnership providing IGas and companies like them with a trusted partner.”

Many people in Salford would take issue with this statement. In recent years, big community campaigns have been launched against Peel Holdings, including its plans for a racecourse in Worsley, building on green belt land at Burgess FarmandBarton Moss, peat extraction atChat Moss and house building at Broadoak and Worsley, as well as its partnership with IGas at Barton Moss last winter, when the company tried unsuccessfully to evict anti-fracking protesters from the Barton Moss Community Protection Camp.

Crucial research by Prof. David Smythe…this is essential information to counter the ‘only safe chemicals’ BS constantly repeated by Lord John Browne, Francis Egan, Gerwyn Llewellyn Williams and other ‘Mother-Frackers!’

#TalkFracking

Cuadrilla say the only chemical they use during fracking‬ is Polyacrylamide, which they claim is completely safe. However, Polyacrylamide is made of Acrylami…de; a highly toxic chemical. Even the smallest amount of water contamination can lead to cancer, nerve problems and decrease of lifespan.

The world could tackle climate change with energy efficiency and renewable energy alone but vested interests in the fossil fuel industry stand in the way, says report. Photograph: Julie Dermansky/Corbis

Historic innovations that have been adopted too hastily with grave unforeseen impacts provide cautionary examples for potential side effects of fracking, says report. Fracking could carry unforeseen risks in the way that thalidomide, tobacco and asbestos did, warns a report produced by the government’s chief scientific adviser.

A chapter in the flagship annual report produced by the UK’s chief scientist, Mark Walport, argues that history holds many examples of innovations that were adopted hastily and later had serious negative environmental and health impacts. The chapter is written by Prof Andrew Stirling of the University of Sussex. The controversial technique, which involves pumping chemicals, sand and water at high pressure underground to fracture shale rock and release the gas within, has been strongly backed by the government with David Cameron saying the UK is “going all out for shale”.

But environmentalists fear that fracking could contaminate water supplies, bring heavy lorry traffic to rural areas, displace investment in renewable energy and accelerate global warming. The chapter in the report produced by the chief scientific adviser appears to echo those fears. “History presents plenty of examples of innovation trajectories that later proved to be problematic — for instance involving asbestos, benzene, thalidomide, dioxins, lead in petrol, tobacco, many pesticides, mercury, chlorine and endocrine-disrupting compounds…” it says.

“In all these and many other cases, delayed recognition of adverse effects incurred not only serious environmental or health impacts, but massive expense and reductions in competitiveness for firms and economies persisting in the wrong path.”

Requests for posters continue to increase, which has led to the introduction of some new designs this month. Displaying a poster in the window of your home, your car, or your work place is an effective and easy way to highlight the dangers and risks associated with fracking and also prompt people who might otherwise not know a single thing about the topic to research fracking, consider the evidence and come to their own conclusions.

Todownload:

Click on your chosen design to open the image as a jpeg file which you can then save to your computer and print via the program or app of your choice. Alternatively, click on a link below to open the poster as a PDF version.

A version of each poster without the ‘Frack Free Walkden’ website address is also available for you to customize or add your own website or group’s name on – click the link named as ‘blank version’ in your chosen design for these.

The original source of this photo is from a BBC North West Tonight news report which you can view by clicking on the below video. Let’s remind ourselves of the BBC’s landlords – Peel Holdings. Let’s remind ourselves of Igas’ landlords here in Salford and Ellesmere Port, where this footage was recorded…yes, Peel Holdings! The report is described as ‘misleading’ and ‘biased’ in the following description:

A completely misleading biased report on fracking in Ellesmere Port by BBC Northwest Tonight on the 15/12/2014. There is a media blackout on reports on fracking. Its amazing this report was aired the day after hundreds of anti-fracking protestors from around the UK attended a solidarity day at the only UK live fracking site. IGAS the site owners have obviously had an overwhelming influence over the control of the content and its intention is to lead the public into a false sense of security over fracking. There is noreference to environmental impact or pollution or the risk associated with fracking. Please Google ‘fracking’ to build an unbiased opinion.